End of the year...

My Inspirations...

• Open Road by Whitney Duncan
• Count On Me by Bruno Mars
• Stop and Stare by OneRepublic
• God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again in Sacrament Meeting
• My, My, My by Rob Thomas
• One Year, Six Months by Yellowcard
• I Won't Give Up by Jana Kramer

8 months ago, I moved out to live on my own. I moved to Ephraim.

When I moved out, I was naive, insecure, and determined. I was messy and crazy. I was inspired and ready for whatever life had in store for me. I was at a crossroads in my life, and I was ready to move on with my life.

8 months ago, I moved in with 5 strangers, and little did I know that these girls would come to be some of my best friends. I learned to live with not only one other girl besides my mom, but 5 other girls. We had awkward moments, we had fun moments. We had good times and we had bad times. We got along, and we definitely had fights. We argued, we ignored each other. We laughed together, we cried together. Boys came and went, friends came and went, classes came and went, and sadly, time came and went.

Although I am excited to move home for a summer, I will miss these girls more than anything. I'll miss the pillow talk and the late night chats. I'll miss sitting on the floor in the hall and talking for hours on end. I'll miss watching movies with them and them teasing me while I watch football or basketball. I'll miss yelling at each other to bring toilet paper or clear hair out of the drains. I'll miss complaining about each other. I'll miss the laughs and the tears. I'll miss living with 5 of my best friends and seeing them everyday. But, life moves on, and so must we.

Here I am, finished with my first year of college. I'm not as naive, not as insecure, and a little less determined. I'm less messy, but still crazy. I am inspired and ready for whatever life has in store for me. I am at a crossroads in my life, but a completely different one. I was looking for friendship, for love, and for myself when I moved away. I found friendship, the kind that lasts for a lifetime. I found love, but it was a love for myself. This year was amazing, and as sad as I am to be leaving this life behind for a summer and things will change, I know that it has influenced my life forever. :)

This will probably be my last blog until I move back to Farmington, what with it being finals week and all.

A word to the wise: Take risks. Make a new path. And. Live your life.

Keep ya' head up

My Inspiration...

• Brand New Day by Joshua Radin
• Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• Count On Me by Bruno Mars
• Gone Away by Safety Suit
• Talks with the best friend

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all, 

but the things that cannot be torn, 

so that we see ourselves as we really are.

Sometimes, life throws crazy things at us.

Sometimes, it gets a little overwhelming.

Sometimes, you feel like you are finally on top of things, and you are doing fine.

Then. 

Sometimes, your world whirlwinds out of control.

By becoming the answer to someone's prayer,

we often find the answers to our own.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I have faced trials. Some that have seemed too hard to bear. Some that may seem easy to others. They have been trials to me, nonetheless. And the one thing that I have learned from them all is:

Keep. Moving. Forward.

Get. On. Your. Knees.-It makes all the difference.

And

Let. Your. Friends. Help. You. Through. It.

God put us on this earth together for a reason.

A word to the wise...

I just want to those who read my blog to know-you are not alone.

When you feel the whirlwinds of life taking control, and you feel like you have no one there, that is not the case.

I want you all to know-I will always be here. If you need someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on, advice, or just some love, give me a call. 

I've been there. When all you can think is that no one cares. And that is the worst feeling.

Even if I don't know you well, I'm here-use me.

I felt inclined to let that out there. Remember-

Keep ya' head up.

Tupac Shakur

Body Image

My Inspirations...

• Weight Management and Eating Behaviors class
• Dove commercials
• Just The Way You Are-Bruno Mars
• Talks with my roommates
• The Biggest Loser
• What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger-Kelly Clarkson

We've been learning about body image in my weight management class. It's super interesting how the media has a way of influencing the public into thinking that the photo-shopped, tiny, unhealthy skinny person is the sexy person.

The hard part for me is that we, as a society, let this happen. We allow photographers and fashion industries dictate our definition of beauty. 

And if you really think about it, what makes these images of people beautiful? There is nothing beautiful about skeletons, so what makes covering a skeleton with skin beautiful?

Nothing.

We, as a society, have the right to show the media that being a healthy size is more beautiful than being unhealthily skinny. 

Who decided that it was okay to make 0 a size? Who decided that anything above a size 3 is now classified as a plus size model?

• 20 years ago, models weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, models weigh 23% less than the average woman.
• The average American woman is 5'4" and 140 lbs. The average American model is 5'11" and 117 lbs.
• About 7% of twelfth grade boys have used steroids to become more muscular.
• One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder.
• Americans spend more than $40,000,000,000 a year on dieting and diet-related products
• Almost half of all women smokers smoke because it is a way to manage their weight... 25% of them die from smoking-related diseases.
• 11.7 million cosmetic procedures were done in the U.S. in 2007--91% were on women.
• A study found that 53% of 13-year-old girls were unhappy with their bodies. This grows to 78% by the time they reach 17-years-old.

I'm sure every girl can relate when I say that all my life I have beaten myself up for not being perfect. I have never been skinny enough, or pretty enough, or smart enough, or enough for anything in general. I have done drastic dieting, like only consuming 500 calories a day to to become what the media portrays as beautiful.

But now I've come to the conclusion.

Who are these people that are given the right to tell us we're not beautiful based on size?

Who made it okay for photographers to kindly but firmly decline photographing a person, just because they're not what the 'industry' wants?

Who are these women that are so beautiful, but completely unrealistic?

So this is me. I'm not perfect by the media's standards, and I'm not quite perfect by my own standards either. But, I am a Child of God and I was made perfect by Him. My boobs are big, my thighs touch, my nose is larger, and my eyes squint when I smile. My stomach isn't flat, my hip bones aren't visible, and I am constantly worrying about what other people think about me. But not anymore. The media should not have a say in if I am beautiful or not-I should. Personally, I would rather be larger and able to bring children into this world, than to be society's version of beautiful and be barren.
After all, isn't confidence sexier than no fat?

My challenge:
Make those people in your life feel beautiful-because they are. Don't allow society to dictate which of God's children are beautiful, and which are not. Be more open to different sizes, because after all-we were all made differently. Be the change you wish to see in the world. And find beauty all around you.

General Conference...

My Inspiration...

• Counsel from the General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• I Need Thee Every Hour by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• Lead Thou Me On by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• The Holy Ghost

How grateful we are to have living prophets in our world today. What a blessing we have to be able to set aside 8 hours of our life twice a year, and it's a blessing we should take full advantage of.

I went into Conference with a long list of questions about life. And every single one was answered.

I know this Gospel is true. I know that I am a child of God. And I know that my Savior is with me, every second of every minute of every hour. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, and he guides God's children according to the way that God would have him do.

Don't take Conference weekend for granted. It is a blessing.

My cup is filleth over. That is for sure.